2010 James Beard Foundation Winners Announced

By Lee Barrie and Cindy Kurman

Writing restaurant features for DineWise has its perks. We’ve met a lot of wonderful restaurateurs and have eaten some tremendous meals. Along the way, we’ve been fortunate to attend a lot of fabulous events, including this week’s 2010 James Beard Foundation Awards, the nation’s most prestigious recognition program honoring professionals in the food and beverage industries.

Chicago can be proud as it takes home a number of Beard awards including two Journalism Awards, one for Multimedia Food Feature, Kevin Pang, Chicagotribune.com for “The Cheeseburger Show;” another for Newspaper Feature Writing went to Cliff Doeksen, Chicago Reader, “The Real American Pie.”

The Outstanding Service Award went to Chicago’s Alinea, chef/owner Grant Achatz. Koren Grieveson, Avec chef, took home the award for Best Chef, Great Lakes.

Whether or not nominees took home an award, being recognized by the James Beard Foundation is an honor for chefs, restaurants and journalists who cover them.

Chicago’s nominees represented our best, Michael Carlson, Schwa; Arun Sampanthavivat, Arun’s; Mindy Segal, Hot Chocolate, and Bruce Sherman, North Pond.

Journalists nominated included WLS-TV’s Hungry Hound Steve Dolinsky; Mike Sula, Chicago Reader; Kevin Pang, Chicago Tribune, and Monica Eng, Chicago Tribune. Rick Bayless was nominated as a TV Food Personality for his PBS series, Mexico One Plate at a Time.

Restaurateurs are known for mentoring young professionals interested in the business. This year’s theme embraced the idea at all levels. In addition to the luminaries, the function showcased up-and-comers at the post-event reception including Priscilla Satkoff (Salpicon), serving Miniature Tostadas with Shredded Pork, Chorizo and Roasted Tomato-Chipotle Sauce, and Curtis Duffy (Avenues) who showcased Alaskan King Crab with Cucumber Consomme, Kalamansi, Floral Cream, and Lemon Balm.

During a ceremony hosted by Lidia Bastianich, Alton Brown and Wolfgang Puck at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, awards in the Restaurant, Chef, Design and Graphics categories were presented, as well as a number of special achievement awards including Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America, America's Classics, Lifetime Achievement, and Humanitarian of the Year. Winners of the Foundation's Book, Broadcast Media and Journalism awards categories were presented the evening before, on Sunday, May 2, 2010, at the annual Media and Book Awards dinner at Espace in New York City, hosted by Kelly Choi of Bravo's Top Chef Masters and Andrew Zimmern of the Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods.

A complete list of all award-winners can be found on www.JBFAwards.com.

Highlights from this year's list of winners include:

Outstanding Chef: Tom Colicchio (Craft, NYC)

Outstanding Restaurant: Daniel (NYC, Chef/Owner: Daniel Boulud, Owner: Joel Smilow)

Rising Star Chef: Timothy Hollingsworth (The French Laundry, Yountville, CA)

Best New Restaurant: Marea (NYC, Chef/Partner: Michael White, Partner: Chris Cannon)

In addition, special achievement award honorees included:

Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America: Leah Chase (Chef/Owner, Dooky Chase Restaurant, New Orleans, LA); Jessica B. Harris (Author and Historian, CA); Paul C.P. McIlhenny (President/CEO, McIlhenny Company, Avery Island, LA); David Rockwell (Founder/CEO, Rockwell Group, New York, NY); L. Timothy Ryan (President, Culinary Institute of America, New York, NY); Susan Spicer (Chef/Owner, Bayona, New Orleans, LA)

America's Classics: Al's French Frys (owners: Bill Bissonette and Lee Bissonette, South Burlington, VT); The Bright Star (Owners: Jimmy Koikos and Nicky Koikos, Bessemer, AL); Calumet Fisheries (Owners: The Kotlick and Toll Families, Chicago, IL); Gustavus Inn (Owners: JoAnn and David Lesh, Gustavus, AK); Mary & Tito's Cafe (Owners: Mary Gonzales and Antoinette Knight, Albuquerque, NM)

Lifetime Achievement Award: Ariane and Michael Batterberry (Founders, Food and Wine and Food Arts)

Humanitarian of the Year: Wayne Kostroski (Founder, Taste of the NFL)

The Book, Broadcast Media and Journalism awards categories were presented on Sunday, May 2, 2010, at the annual Media and Book Awards dinner at Espace in New York City. Highlights included:

Cookbook of the Year: The Country Cooking of Ireland by Colman Andrews (Chronicle Books)

Cookbook Hall of Fame: A Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden

M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award: Francine Prose, Saveur, "Faith and Bacon"

Television Show, In Studio or Fixed Location: French Food at Home with Laura Calder, Host: Laura Calder, Network: Food Network Canada, Producer: Johanna Eliot

Television Show, On Location: Chefs A' Field: King of Alaska, Host: Rick Moonen, Network: PBS, Producers: Heidi Hanson and Chris Warner

TV Food Personality: Andrew Zimmern, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, Network: The Travel Channel

Newspaper Food Section: The Washington Post, Joe Yonan

Craig Claiborne Distinguished Restaurant Reviews: Jonathan Gold, LA Weekly, "Sauced," "Hot Birria, Cold Cerveza," "Hare Today"

Website Focusing on Food, Beverage, Restaurant, or Nutrition: Chow.com, Jane Goldman

Food Blog: Serious Eats, Ed Levine, Seriouseats.com

Industry leaders from across the country attended the highly-anticipated festivities, which celebrated this year's Awards theme of "The Legacy Continues," a tribute to the enduring impact of the standards of culinary excellence set by James Beard himself and all the talented professionals who keep those traditions alive. In a nod to this year's theme, each of the Outstanding Chef winners honored over the years, including Mario Batali, Thomas Keller, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Daniel Boulud, Nancy Silverton, Rick Bayless, Grant Achatz, Alfred Portale, Dan Barber, Larry Forgione and David Bouley, served as award presenters throughout the evening at the Awards Ceremony on Monday, May 3, 2010. At the Gala Reception immediately following the Awards Ceremony, guests enjoyed a dine-around gala prepared by notable chefs from across the country, each of whom was personally selected by a past Outstanding Chef winner.

Established in 1990, the James Beard Foundation Awards recognize culinary professionals for excellence and achievement in their fields and continue to emphasize the Foundation's mission: to celebrate, preserve, and nurture America's culinary heritage and diversity. The annual James Beard Foundation Awards honor the best and the brightest talents in the food and beverage industries, celebrating outstanding achievement in each of the following categories: Restaurant and Chef, Restaurant Design and Graphics, Books, Broadcast Media, Journalism, and special achievement awards. Each category has an individual Awards Committee made up of industry professionals who volunteer their time to oversee the policies, procedures, and selection of judges for their respective Awards program. All award winners receive a certificate and a bronze medallion engraved with the James Beard Foundation Awards insignia. There are no cash prizes.

The 2010 James Beard Foundation Awards are presented with support by the following companies: In Association Sponsors: All-Clad Metalcrafters, Visa Signature®; Premier Sponsors: Green and Black's® Organic Chocolate, Lenox Tableware and Gifts, Mercedes-Benz; Supporting Sponsors: The Coca-Cola Company, Delta Air Lines, Food Network NYC Wine and Food Festival, illy caffe North America, Inc., Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, Southern Wine and Spirits of New York, Stella Artois; Gala Reception Sponsors: Acqua Panna® Natural Spring Water, Beijing Tourism Administration, Ecolab, Food Network South Beach Wine and Food Festival, Pernod Ricard USA, Rums of Puerto Rico, S.Pellegrino® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water; Media Sponsor: The Wall Street Journal and with additional support from Chefwear.

About the James Beard Foundation

Founded in 1986, the James Beard Foundation is dedicated to celebrating, preserving, and nurturing America's culinary heritage and diversity in order to elevate the appreciation of our culinary excellence. A cookbook author and teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge about food, James Beard, who died in 1985, was a champion of American cuisine. He helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. Today, the Beard Foundation continues in the same spirit by administering a number of diverse programs that include educational initiatives, food industry awards, scholarships to culinary schools, and publications, and by maintaining the historic James Beard House in New York City's Greenwich Village as a "performance space" for visiting chefs. For more information, please visit http://www.jamesbeard.org/. Find insights on food at the James Beard Foundation's blog Delights & Prejudices. Join the James Beard Foundation on Facebook. Follow the James Beard Foundation on Twitter.

Photos of the May 2 Media & Cookbook Awards.
Photos of the May 3 Awards.

Photos: 
Cindy Kurman and Lidia Bastianich
Grant Achatz and Lee Barrie
Mindy Segal and friend
Kevin Pang and Andrew Zimmern

DineWise is a weekly column appearing in StreetWise magazine. Lee Barrie is on the StreetWise board of directors and he and his wife Cindy own Kurman Communications, a Chicago-based public relations agency specializing in lifestyle, restaurant and hospitality strategic branding, marketing promotions, media relations and social networking. If you'd like your restaurant to be featured on the DineWise blog and in StreetWise magazine, please contact dinewise@kurman.com. You can follow DineWise on Twitter @Dinewise and follow us @kurmanstaff.